I've shot a few weddings, for friends, and I don't think anyone who hasn't done it appreciates how difficult it is. Including scouting the location/attending the rehearsal, the day itself (which is about 10 hours non-stop concentration) and the post-processing, a single wedding can easily be 30-50 hours work. Not only is there the work itself, there's also the stress. How to you tell relatives not to lean into the aisle with their stupid cameraphones when you need to get the shot of the bride entering the church with her father so she can show it to her granddaughter one day? That's who I'm shooting for, not Facebook. How to you get all the losers with their cheap "prosumer" cameras to stop making the family look in different directions when you're trying to take the formals? What about the moron with his stupid Sony autofocus making red spots all over the white dress? I love photography and I love my friends but wedding photography is <i>just not worth it</i> unless you are making a huge pile of money. I'd rather shovel out the elephant house at the zoo.<p>Not only that, a professional wedding photographer has backups for all their kit (weddings are <i>the</i> definition of mission critical) and none of it's cheap - go and price up a portable Elinchrom setup, for example.
I think that most people underestimate the skill and effort required for good photography to begin with, even without the stress and pressure of being for a wedding.